Demonesses and Hunters

Having confirmed this, Neph no longer felt anxious. She said she had no more questions, and Alger continued talking about Tracy. When he admitted that he did not know which pathway Tracy belonged to, Neph interjected:

"Demoness.

"Sequence 5, Demoness of Affliction."

Justice Audrey's eyes suddenly widened, while understanding dawned on Alger's face. As he pondered this, Audrey asked curiously:

"Do you know more detailed information about this Vice Admiral of Ailment? I mean, her past..."

Neph blinked. Looking into Audrey's eyes, which were filled with curiosity and excitement, she smiled as well.

"I do.

"But I don't think you'll necessarily be able to handle it."

Audrey froze for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Was she previously...? I-I already know about that..."

"No, not that." Neph shook her head. "Tracy has a mother and a mom."

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Audrey's eyes went round. Her mouth fell slightly open, and it took her a long while to close it. With a vacant look in her eyes, she said:

"Th-thank you for telling me, Miss Pure White..."

"There's more. Do you want to hear it?" Neph asked, looking at her.

Uncertainty crept into Audrey's eyes. After a brief hesitation, she still failed to restrain her curiosity.

"What happened next?"

Neph chuckled.

"Her mother and father had her. When she was eight, her father became her mom. Later, her mom had a younger brother for her with another man.

"All of this left her with severe psychological trauma. She ran away from home and went to sea. By the time she finally understood herself, she had become a woman."

"..." Audrey's expression was wooden. She seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

"..." Alger's expression stiffened slightly, though he seemed to be doing a little better than Audrey. "The Demoness pathway can turn men into women?"

"Why do you think all the higher-ups in the Demoness Sect are women?" Neph asked with a smile.

Alger said nothing. He now knew the answer-because this pathway turned men into women!

Klein was equally bewildered. He recalled the diary entry he had read earlier that day and the line, "The taste of a Demoness isn't bad." A heartfelt admiration for Emperor Roselle welled up within him.

Controlling the World, he asked a question as well. "Since there's a pathway that can turn men into women, is there a pathway that turns women into men?"

"There is," Neph said with a smile. "The taste of a Hunter isn't bad either. The higher the sequence, the more vigorous they are."

"..." Klein understood. His fellow transmigrator had read that line too.

Silence fell over the Tarot Club. Neph thought for a moment, then said to Alger:

"Mr. Hanged Man, sorry for the trouble, but could you give us a detailed introduction to the Four Pirate Kings and the other six pirate admirals?"

Please finish your lines...

Alger had no objection, and the plot continued on its course. Once he finished his introduction, Audrey brought up the news about the Backlund serial killer case.

Neph knew about it. She also knew that Klein would be hunted by a Desire Apostle much later, but that was still far off. For now, the worst this incident would do to Klein was send him running down the street in the middle of the night, shouting for help. She had no intention of warning him.

Derrick then explained the truth about Devils, and Audrey asked another question:

"Mr. Hanged Man, Miss Pure White, there's something I've been wondering about for a while.

"I've attended several Beyonder gatherings and found that very few people sell potion formulas. Even when someone does, a deal is rarely made. Why is that?"

Alger gave a low chuckle.

"Because potion formulas are easy to fake, and Beyonder gatherings are relatively secretive, with little power to enforce anything. No one dares gamble with their own life. Could you really prepare two sets of Beyonder ingredients and test one on an animal first? The cost would be far too high."

"Yes," Neph interjected. "Not everyone has a maid to test potions for them."

"..." Audrey felt as though she had just been insulted.

Alger continued explaining. Once he had fully answered Audrey's question, Derrick spoke:

"The City of Silver recently organized an expedition into the depths of the darkness. We discovered a half-destroyed temple. The statue enshrined inside depicted a naked man nailed upside down to a cross, with a considerable amount of blood smeared over his body.

"Do you know which deity this is?"

Derrick and Audrey exchanged glances, while Neph spoke languidly:

"That is a statue of my Lord."

As expected... Klein frowned as he glanced at Neph. A trace of concealed concern flashed through his eyes before he fell into thought again.

Audrey and Alger looked at Neph in surprise. Derrick's heart skipped a beat. Turning toward her, he asked bluntly:

"Miss Pure White, what else do you know?"

Neph did not even need to look to know that he must be both eager and afraid. She looked at him and, after a brief silence, spoke:

"The sun was torn apart. The saints of old knelt upon the sun's corpse and devoured it, partaking of their holy communion. Pain and resentment rose from within it, becoming an evil spirit in the shadows."

In truth, the True Creator was not an evil spirit, but the Dark Angel Sasrir, who had been separated back then. However, explaining this would be too troublesome, and Neph had no intention of going into detail here.

These words made everyone hold their breath in intense concentration. Even Klein, who was not hearing this for the first time, struggled to remain calm. Audrey and Alger were even more frightened. Derrick clenched his fists and looked at Neph as he asked:

"Miss Pure White, the True Creator you speak of is that evil spirit, correct?"

Neph nodded, and Derrick asked again in a trembling voice, "Then... what about the sun?"

Neph said nothing. She merely looked at him gently, her gaze carrying pity as well as reassurance. Derrick stopped asking questions. He lowered his head, as though he already knew the answer.

Neph slowly began to speak. "I want to help Him reclaim the power that belongs to Him and return to His original form."

No wonder... Understanding dawned on Klein. Much of his concern for Neph dissipated, only to be replaced by even more questions, because he had suddenly realized something.

...If the True Creator won't work, who will her next choice be? Could there be more than one evil spirit? No, it might not necessarily be an evil spirit. Perhaps some other form of existence...

Silence settled over the gathering. Neph looked around, then reminded Derrick:

"Your elder Lovia belongs to the pathway governed by my Lord. She is a Sequence 5 Shepherd.

"Do not trust her, but do not suspect her either."